| Extract from "The Cycads" by Loran M. Whitelock |
Habitat
Woodland or forest, mainly along coastal areas, at elevations usually less than 200 m (650 ft), generally in sandy soil over calcareous substrate. The climate is tropical, and the rain generally falls during summer.Distribution
The range and taxonomy of Cycas rumphii are not well understood. This description is made from collections from the type locality, namely, eastern Indonesia, including Irian Jaya, (western New Guinea). Its range may extend farther west, but specimens from western Indonesia and Malaysia appear to be different.Cycas rumphii is distinguished by its broad, falcate, hard and glossy leaflets with relatively broad bases, the long and almost entirely armed petiole, and the narrowly triangular, megasporophyull lamina with its slender apical spine and reduced lateral spines.
The seed of Cycas rumphii complex is unique in that it has a pad of spongy material between the scleratesta and the endospearm. This pad causes the seed to float and it is generally accepted that in past times this feature assisted in the distribution of these cycads. This may explain why the C. rumphii complex consists primarily of shoreline plants.
Cycas rumphii in cultivation is both a beautiful and useful plant. It has been used extensively as landscape plant throughout the tropical and subtropical areas of the world.
The hardiness of Cycas in general and C. rumphii in particular is remarkable, with occasional specimens growing well in warm temperate to temperate climates. In such cooler climates, hard frosts may defoliate C. rumphii, but recovery is usually rapid when the weather warms up. Its graceful palmlike appearance has made it a very popular landscape plant, used extensively wherever weather conditions permit.
The conservation status of Cycas rumphii appears to be secure. There have been inroads on its distribution by land clearance for agriculture or logging, but regeneration in habitat is good, and growth rapid.